Tiny ‘anthrobots’ built from human cells could help heal the body

In the medicine of the future, molecular physicians built from a patient’s own cells might ferret out cancer, repair injured tissue, and even remove plaque from blood vessels. Researchers have now taken a step toward that vision: They’ve coaxed tracheal cells to form coordinated groups called organoids that can propel themselves with tiny appendages. When added to wounded neurons in the lab, these “anthrobots” helped neurons repair themselves . The work, reported today in Advanced Science , “is amazing, and groundbreaking,” says Xi “Charlie” Ren, a tissue engineer at Carnegie Mellon University who was not involved with the research. The creation of these living devices, he says, “opens the way to personalized medicine.” Michael Levin, a developmental biologist at Tufts University and leader of the new study, made his first “living robots” 4 years ago. He and his colleagues stitched together embryonic heart and skin cells from the African clawed frog to create an organoid with cilia, tiny hairs that move back and forth, enabling it to crawl and even swim. “Levin demonstrated that cells can be coached to do something they would never have done on their own,” says Ron Weiss, a synthetic biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved with the work. It was a good first step, but the human immune system would reject such amphibian-based biorobots. So, in the new study, Levin’s graduate ...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news